Many appliances, such as refrigerators, have internal compartment regions for the storage of foods, and these compartment regions are generally divided horizontally by shelves aimed at optimizing the use of the available storage space.
A conventional form of coupling shelves within a refrigerator compartment involves the use of horizontal rails secured to or molded into the side and rear walls of the refrigerator compartment which are then used to support shelves at side perimeter edges of the shelves. However, such support configurations generally require the complete removal of an internal cavity shelf in order for a user to change or adjust the horizontal level or location of the shelf within the refrigerator or freezer compartment. Further, these configurations require a user to remove all items stored on the shelves before the adjustment procedure to avoid accidents and ensure safe adjustment.
An attempt to solve this issue was presented in CN203464596, EP1443292 and U.S. Pat. No. 8,419,143 which, each with its own characteristics, describe shelves that can be slid up and down by two rails positioned in the posterior region of the refrigerator cabinet, so that the front region thereof remains in balance. This configuration, however, requires that the shelves be constructed with more complex and robust structures, since they require additional elements, such as locking parts and reinforced side frames, to act as “French hand” which can bear the weight of stored items supported by the shelves. Moreover, such configurations work with only one or, at most, two points of contact with the rails in addition to having various constituent components and are therefore complex and costly to manufacture.
Examples from the CN1896665 reference are illustrated in FIGS. 1A and 1B, wherein a solution for a vertical sliding shelf 1 in the internal cavity 2 of a refrigerator unit comprises, in its internal side walls, surfaces 3 provided with meandering rails or paths 4 and footholds in front and rear regions, such that the displacement of the shelf 1 is made by moving the shelf 1 in a “zigzag” motion along the rails 4. The configuration shown in FIG. 1A requires that the constituent components are less robust due to the distribution of the loads acting on the shelves 1. However, with reference to FIG. 1B, the repositioning of the shelf 1 requires a sharp horizontal movement, which requires a front portion of the shelves project outwardly towards the front of the refrigerator cabinet 2, and thus can cause for displacement of any stored item positioned thereon during shelf adjustment. Another drawback of this solution is the fact that the rails 4 are shaped in a same plate or surface 3. Thus, for each machine model having varied internal capacities, specific parts are required to suit the depth of the internal cavity 2. This requirement compromises the practicality of production lines involving several product platforms with different storage capacities.
Therefore, the present state of the art lacks practical, versatile and safe solutions to allow vertical adjustment of the shelves inside cold rooms, cooking rooms or other internal compartments of appliances in general.
Therefore, the present concept addresses the technical issues and complexities of the prior art with regards to vertical adjustment of shelves within internal compartments of appliances.
As a result, an objective of the present concept is to provide an adjustable shelf system for household appliances with simple and economical operation.
Further, an objective of the present concept is to provide a versatile system that can be easily adapted to different designs and capabilities in an appliance with which the system is to be utilized. Comprising separate front and rear track members within an internal compartment, the present concept allows for shelves that can be installed at different distances. That is, the shelf system of the present concept provides an adjustable feature for accommodating different depths of shelves.
Another objective of the present concept is to provide a shelf system that allows vertical adjustment of internal shelves of refrigerator cabinets or cooking cavities without having to remove all of the items supported on the shelves or remove the shelves themselves from the appliance.
Another objective of the present concept is to provide a shelf support system including four contact points in order to promote a better distribution of loads, as well as greater stability and security in use.